We in academics who are interested in finding and hiring minority faculty -- specifically Native Americans -- are asked why there are so few PhDs to pick from. When there are open faculty positions listed, programs are flooded with non-minority applicants -- and they are very well qualified to boot. It is easy to justify hiring non-minorities when there are so many overly qualified folks to pick from, and there are so few minority applicants without the "right kind" of education, training and scholarly experiences on their resume.
So, when asked why there are so few Native American applicants to pick from, it is so complicated, a typical sound bite response usually is the only result. It is difficult to frame, know how to begin or where to begin.
Because I am interested in education when I read this article I thought about all of the poor responses to this on-going question. While there are additional layers to this problem, the article, link below is a great response to why there are so few Native American PhDs. I hope you will read it. Peace, DAP
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/how-washington-created-the-worst-schools-in-america-215774
